The film industry expressed a deep shock over the nightmare that unfolded on Wednesday night as terrorists targeted various locations in Mumbai. The film personalities appealed for sanity and called for unity after one of the biggest terrorist strikes rattled the country's financial city.
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In one of the most audacious terror attacks in Indian history, at least 100 people have been killed and nearly 300 injured. Two five star hotels, hospitals and the city's CST railway station were among the key targets of the terrorists, who entered the city through boats at Gateway of India, just opposite the heritage Taj hotel.
"I am scared! Shocked! I don't have words to describe my feelings. It seems unreal to me almost like a film. I don't know who are they and why they have resorted to such ruthlessness," director Anurag Kashyap, who is in Goa to attend the IFFI, told PTI over the telephone. "They just enter the city like that and hold it hostage. It is unbelievable. Obviously Mumbai will bounce back but it has been hurt badly and it will take time to heal." Kashyap is best remembered for his film, Black Friday, based on the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
Lyricist Javed Akhtar appealed for unity. "I am completely shocked and surprised," he said. "It is an unprecedented attack that the country has ever witnessed. It has turned out to be one of the most horrific attacks... but there is no time to blame any system or any organisation. It is time to stand unitedly behind our security forces and flush out these culprits."
Similar sentiments were echoed by national award winning director Rahul Dholakia. "It is insane! We need to sit down as a society and understand how to prevent this," he said. The director of Parzania also appealed to everyone to stick together in time of such crisis.
"Politicians should put aside their differences and agendas and think about India for a change," he added. "It is the time to show our grit and character... to stand together and be one. I have no words. How do you describe something like that? India is such a huge country, obviously some people like to shift the blame to the security but so many of them have already been killed."
"There is no end to such things unless we find the root cause of the problem," said Irrfan Khan, who was recently seen in Mumbai Meri Jaan, a film based on the blasts in Mumbai local trains.
